ITG 2005

John Irish, reviewer

John Thomas’s clinic on how he approached playing lead trumpet in jazz ensembles was a hot commodity at this year’s conference. Thomas is a highly sought-after lead trumpet player who has performed with a galaxy of the world’s top stars and can be heard on hundreds of TV shows and movie soundtracks. His session began with an honest appraisal of trumpet playing and how we approach the trumpet. Relaxed playing is crucial to all of our performance. Specific topics covered in the workshop include:

With regard to the embouchure, think of a slight pucker, like kissing your grandmother or blowing out a candle. A natural embouchure is formed in this manner. Notice the gap between your lips (approx. 1/16th of an inch). Mouthpiece placement on the lips is very personal; place it where it is most comfortable. Focus the muscles toward the middle (lips slurs should develop flexibility, strength will be a by-product). Corners should be set, not tight; keep the center of lips relaxed. One will have more sound than air when buzzing the on the mouthpiece if this done properly. Playing the trumpet might be the opposite of what you might think—what we think is natural is not really how the trumpet is played. If it was natural, everyone could do it!

Keep the air relaxed. Throat open; relaxed in and relaxed out. Put the mouthpiece pressure on the lips as you play the note. He mentioned studying with James Stamp and covering the basics of lips and air. Try shouting through the horn “HEY”— that’s a high D. One doesn’t need huge amounts of air to play; the key is to keep the aperture relaxed and maintain a centered sound. You then won’t need as much air to make the lips vibrate.

Sing through your horn! One should be able to play in the upper register softly, not just loudly. Practice singing against your hand; notice as one ascends in pitch the air goes faster. So, it’s not volume of air, but the speed of the air. Take care not to tighten up on higher notes-stay relaxed. Thomas confided that the longer he does this, the stronger he gets. He mentioned he doesn’t have to warm-down because he didn’t beat up his chops in the first place. Thomas then worked with a Mahidol University student to demonstrate these concepts. He emphasized singing first and then playing the same pitches, beginning with 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, and so on, always maintaining a singing approach to the higher notes.

On the subject of equipment Thomas felt that the mouthpiece needs to help you do what you need to do. A tighter backbore will help add the resistance one needs to play lead. Considerations on which trumpet to play are in the front end (leadpipe) and the back end (bell flare); a gradual flare will result in a darker sound. Receiver gap and the leadpipe are also crucial to consider, especially in their resistance characteristics. Basically, one should choose a horn that lets the music in you come out. Flugelhorn playing should have a slower airflow creating a sensual, warmer sound.

Lead trumpet players (along with the drummer) create the excitement within the band.

Lead players must play in the correct style! Thomas then played along with recordings from an upcoming DVD project (an instructional DVD on how to play lead trumpet). Tom Kubis arranged four pieces in a variety of styles and featured the trumpet section made up of Snooky Young, Bobby Shew, Wayne Bergeron, and Bijon Watson. Video of that LA recording session was shown as well as video interviews with Wayne Bergeron and Snooky Young. Thomas demonstrated his incredible playing and depth of knowledge on the subject—we all immediately knew why he is at the top of the lead trumpet pantheon.